5 Tips to Help Canadians Pay Lower Premiums for Life Insurance

There are several factors that most life insurance companies use to determine what each policy-holder will be paying. Among the criteria used are age, existing health conditions, geographic location, lifestyle and expected benefit amount.

Considering all these factors, lifestyle tends to be the most subjective aspect. An insurance company will keenly look at multiple aspects that relate to your mode of life to determine the level of risk that you carry. When the insurance provider concludes that you have a high risk, it means you’ll be paying more.

Smoking, occupation, obesity, and hobbies are among some of the lifestyle factors that will affect life insurance premiums. Enthusiasts of high-risk activities like bungee jumping, skydiving, scuba diving and other extreme sports, should expect to pay higher premiums. This is in contrast to an applicant who spends much of their spare time playing golf or fishing.

Paying less for your premiums is a sure way of saving some money each month. To help you get a life insurance at a cheaper price, this article will show you some of the tips that will help you achieve that goal.

Quit smoking

Giving up this habit is among the easiest ways to ensure you are paying lower premiums for life insurance. But to make the cut, you have to be ready to deal with the difficulties of breaking the addiction. While it is widely agreed that tobacco addiction is difficult to break, you can do it as long as you are determined and have the right motivation.

Besides enjoying an improved health, a tobacco smoker will save significant sums of money simply by quitting since life insurance is costly for a smoker. For instance, a life insurance policy with $500,000 on a 20-year term requires a 30-year non-smoker to pay $20.88 every month. The same policy for a smoker demands $77 per month.

If you already have a life insurance but you are a smoker, you don’t need a new policy after quitting the habit. Most insurance providers will reduce your premiums once you’ve proved that you are completely free from tobacco.

Lose the extra weight

Obesity is also among the top reasons why policy-holders end up paying more for life insurance. This condition has been associated with several diseases that lead to premature deaths which raises the risks for an insurance provider.

Most insurance providers will use your BMI to determine if your weight is within a healthy range. This method doesn’t consider other essential indicators of health but it only focuses on height and weight. Although it’s not the best way to determine the healthy weight for an individual anyone who is serious about getting low life insurance premiums should keep their BMI in check.

Drive safely and maintain a clean record

A bad driving record will not only affect how much you pay for automobile insurance but it will also make your life insurance premiums higher. Getting several speed tickets and committing other traffic offenses is interpreted as a high risk by insurance companies.

Statistics show that a careless driver has higher chances of getting involved in an accident than a defensive driver. A significant number of accidents lead to death hence the caution by insurance providers.

Driving within the provided speed limits and keenly observing traffic laws will help you maintain a spotless record. In turn, this will qualify you for lower life insurance premiums.

Safe driving also helps you when you’re looking for financing. Some online loan providers may want to know if you have any track record of carelessness.

Start early

From 2015, the life expectancy for the average American has been estimated to be around 79 years. If you are close to this age when you get your life insurance, you’ll pay higher premiums than a person who is younger.

Basically, an insurance company knows that it only has several years left to collect money from an elderly person before they pay death benefits. While young people are full of life, they tend to neglect life insurance when they can get it cheaply. In a nutshell, the older you are the higher you pay and vice versa.

Choose term life insurance

There are two types of life insurance, whole life insurance, and term life insurance. Whole life insurance will cover you from the moment you take out the policy until the day you die. On the other hand, term life insurance covers you for a fixed period of time.

Most term life insurance doesn’t pay for a death benefit simply because the holder is alive when the term expires. Therefore, the premiums tend to be lower which is great for young people who are living responsibly.

Conclusion

Taking a life insurance is a great idea because it will be a huge consolation to your family. But you can lower your monthly premiums significantly by leading a responsible life.